Rugryn Graymantle's Backstory

Rugryn Graymantle of the Graymantle Clan

Age 25 (barely a fully grown dwarf)

Her early childhood was a blur, being an orphan growing up tends to do that to you. She grew up in The Squats in The city of Oregent. Rough memories blurred out except the fields and local small woodlands. The best days were spent catching rabbits and sometimes in the city catching a giant rat.  When you are destitute, a rat is good eating.  Anytime she caught a rabbit she would smuggle it in through a hole in the wall to her other orphaned friends to avoid being questioned and potentially taxed by the guards for bringing in non- taxed meat and 'stealing' from the Consortium. As she got older she joined a little gang for protection, her payment for inclusion being food. One day she was caught smuggling in meat. The corrupt guards caught her and instead of just confiscating the items, told her she need to pay back all unpaid taxes over the years, to them personally, go to jail, or join them as part of the Consortium. Not having any money, choose begrudgingly to do work for them.

The Lumber Consortium relocated her to Falcon's Hollow. Her job was to accompany loggers and help protect them as they go into the forests of the Darkmoon Vale.  She would scout ahead for danger and help fight off dangers. Over the years, she became decent at wielding a logging axe, spending days and nights in the woods. Hunting for the loggers and skinning rabbits with her clan dagger, the only connection she still has left to the Graymantles.  The only reason she knew her clan name was the title engraved on the hilt.  That, and a little children's book written in Dwarven she somehow had since childhood, her name Rugryn written on the inside cover. One day on a hunting excursion away from the logging camp, she discovered a large tree that was hollow.  In the hollow there was a squirrel's nest, in the nest there was only one scrawny baby squirrel left, and Rugryn didn't have the heart to kill it.  So she put it in her hood to take with and care for.

Rugryn tried to befriend the loggers on these excursions, with mixed success.  One time though, there was a new face in the mix, a familiar face.  That of her old dear friend,  Kierkfen Turnshelm!  It was so good to see him and catch up and he explained he was doing just one more odd job to gather the coin for an adventure! He was always trying new things or a quick way to catch a coin ( and failing) and yet somehow never seemed to loose his sense of joy.  When they were children that sense of joy is one of the only things that got them through the toughest of times.  Rugryn urged him to just stay on as a logger, she could teach him to track and protect too! An honest living, a relatively stable life, no need to go off on an adventure just yet.

But Kierkfen just couldn't contain himself.  A few weeks went by and his pockets were full enough with coin to buy supplies and onwards he went. To Droskar's Crucible he had told her over a hearty night campfire.  Now, upon hearing this her interest was piqued, and although he tried to get her to join him, she just couldn't. This job in the forest was stable and her belly was full for the first time in her life, why would she risk it?  But after he left and the weeks turned into months she started to wonder of his fate.  If the legends were true perhaps he had found family? Ancient homes in the deep? Curiosity started to well within her.